Analysis of Ae Fond Kiss, And Then We Sever

Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)



Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, and then for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.

Who shall say that Fortune grieves him
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerful twinkle lights me,
Dark despair around benights me.

I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy;
Naething could resist my Nancy;
But to see her was to love her,
Love but her, and love for ever.

Had we never loved sae kindly,
Had we never loved sae blindly,
Never met -or never parted,
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

Fare thee weel, thou first and fairest!
Fare thee weel, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, enjoyment, love, and pleasure!

Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, alas, for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.


Scheme AaBB ccbb bbaa bbdd xxaa AaBB
Poetic Form Quatrain  (83%)
Metre 11101110 1101110 10111111 10101111 11111011 10111111 11101011 10101011 11111010 1101110 11101110 11001110 11101110 11101110 10111010 11111010 11111010 11111010 11101010 10101010 11101110 1101110 10111111 10101111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 834
Words 154
Sentences 12
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 109
Words per stanza (avg) 25
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

48 sec read
192

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist. more…

All Robert Burns poems | Robert Burns Books

11 fans

Discuss this Robert Burns poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Ae Fond Kiss, And Then We Sever" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30463/ae-fond-kiss%2C-and-then-we-sever>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    18
    hours
    26
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Published in 1954, "Fighting Terms" was the first collection of poems by which poet?
    A Philip Larkin
    B Thom Gunn
    C Sylvia Plath
    D Ted Hughes